Researchers at The Medical College of Wisconsin
investigating latex allergy in healthcare workers have demonstrated
that the most effective public health strategy to
prevent allergic sensitization is by stopping the use of powdered
latex gloves. Previous medical studies pointed out
this association of latex allergy to powdered latex glove use
but were not able to completely confirm this link in specific
workers. Reducing the use of powdered gloves reduced the
allergen in the air and in air ducts at two hospitals, and prevented
sensitization to latex in healthcare workers at both
institutions. These findings are published in the Journal of
Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

Kevin J. Kelly, MD, professor of Pediatrics (allergy/
immunology) and Internal Medicine and vice chair in Pediatrics
at the Medical College, and his colleagues studied
more than 800 healthcare workers at Froedtert Hospital and
Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin over a 4.5-year period.
Researchers tested the amount of latex allergen in the air ducts
of the employees’ primary work areas before and after both
institutions switched to powder-free gloves and found a significant
correlation between high levels of airborne allergen
and healthcare workers with a latex allergy or sensitivity.

The switch to powder-free gloves led to significant changes
at both hospitals. The unique study design allowed the investigators
to determine that there was a 16-fold reduction
in the rate of latex sensitization among the study participants.
Among the healthcare workers who were sensitized to latex
at the beginning of the study, 25 percent lost that sensitivity
and are no longer considered sensitized to latex. Whether
these fortunate workers will redevelop latex sensitization
if exposed to latex in the future is unknown.

The switch to powder-free gloves led to
significant changes at both hospitals.

“This study provides the strongest evidence that allergic
sensitivity to latex in healthcare workers is linked to airborne
allergen exposure through powdered gloves,” Dr. Kelly says.
“I believe these findings provide a roadmap for healthcare
institutions that will help minimize the risks of latex sensitization
to healthcare workers.”

Dr. Kelly’s team also found healthcare workers who had
demonstrated latex sensitization were nearly three times more
likely to leave their jobs. This phenomenon has been termed
“the healthy survivor” effect and helps explain why there
may be an artificial reduction in latex allergy seen in some
studies, as the affected workers choose to no longer be employed
without receiving workers’ compensation from a
work-related exposure.

This article was originally published in Coping® with Allergies & Asthma magazine,
September/October
2011.